Patterson, who was black, had decided that the world champion of boxing must be moral as well as a skilled boxer.

Even then role models were in vogue. And Floyd Patterson, when he looked in the mirror, saw a worthy role model. Whereas Sonny, when he looked in the mirror, saw a snake coming out of the darkness. His self-perception was modeled after those around him, the way they perceived him.

Las Vegas, Nevada. Sin City, it used to be called. Now it’s glimmer and glitz, plastic flesh and plastic credit cards. Where America, and most of the world for that matter, goes for fun. But fun, I have discovered, can be a very passive program.

In the summer months, it’s hot in Las Vegas. And bright, because the sun glares down as if through God’s magnifying glass. Sitting in the midst of convection waves, as the heat bites the white dust and then shimmers back up, is Paradise. Paradise Memorial Gardens, a cemetery.